Page 83 of Robb

Swallowing, Tahnee reached out.

Don’t do it! her brolga screeched. Our powers are not to be used in this way!

I know, Tahnee said, trying to soothe it. But for now, we just have to go along with it.

The brolga was far from happy, but it did seem to settle a little – at the very least, it didn’t seem like it would block her from using her powers.

And sure enough as she reached forward, pressing her hands to the cushion and concentrating as hard as she could, she felt the pulse of energy flow through her, and the fabric turned to gold beneath her hands, shimmering and then flashing as it transformed.

“Remarkable,” Anne murmured, leaning forward, her eyes widening. It was the first time she’d seemed surprised that Tahnee had seen. “Quite incredible.”

Reaching out, she picked up the pillow – or tried to. Despite her mighty shifter form, the pillow in its new form was slightly too heavy for her to lift.

“It really is solid gold,” Anne marveled. “Well. I don’t know what I would have done if your powers had turned out to be nothing but a rumor, though of course we had verified everything. But there’s nothing quite like seeing something with your own eyes. But, oh –” She cut herself off, glancing at the small golden Cartier watch on her wrist “– if I’m not mistaken, the person we’ve been waiting for will be arriving in just a moment.”

Her eyes swung to Robb, and a small smile played at the corners of her lips. “Someone who I trust you’ll remember very well, Mr. Lockwood.”

Tahnee glanced at Robb, who looked at the moment as if his face could be carved from granite. He said nothing to Anne’s taunt. But then the door opened behind him, and when he turned, his expression transformed into a look of fury.

A man stood in the doorway. He looked about Robb’s age, his dark hair graying, though he looked a bit pale and not quite as broad across the shoulders as Robb was. He did have an insufferably smug look on his face, however – and as he met Robb’s eyes, his smirk deepened even further, his eyes glinting cruelly.

“Why, hello Robb,” he said, voice steeped in arrogance. “Miss me?”

Robb’s lips curled back from his teeth in a vicious snarl – an expression Tahnee had never seen on his face before. But whoever this guy was, it was clear that he and Robb had serious beef.

His dingo-like snarl never wavering, Robb stared at the man.

“James,” he said, his voice a harsh growl.

Chapter 15

Even though Robb had known from the moment Euan told him there’d been a jailbreak that James would show up at some point, it was still almost like a punch to the gut to see him in the all-too-contemptuous flesh, strutting about like he owned the place.

Which I suppose he kind of does, given that Hargreaves bought Lyle Castle out… and I suppose we have James to thank for the fact that the Agency never knew about that particular bit of information.

Inside his head, the dingo had to practically be leashed to keep it from lashing out. It had taken James’s betrayal even more personally than Robb had, and its sense of how the world worked had taken a battering. It simply could not comprehend the idea of a double agent. Loyalty was what it knew best, and expected of others.

I would have respected that vile creature more if it had been with Hargreaves from the start, it snarled. That at least would have been honest.

“Oh, Robb,” said James, strolling across the room and looming over him. “Wyvern got your tongue? Not even a greeting for your old friend?” He shook his head sadly. “Though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You kept me captive in your basement for two years, and you didn’t even have the decency to pop down and say hello.”

Robb said nothing, simply staring James in the eye and refusing to back down.

“You’re looking rough,” James went on, his eyes roaming over Robb and taking in each remaining sign of injury with apparent pleasure. “I guess captivity would do that to a person. Not that I would know anything about that.”

Turning his attention to Tahnee, he sauntered across to her to give her the same lingering once-over – and, Robb thought, it wasn’t only the dingo that was at risk of lashing out.

“And this must be the lovely Tahnee,” he said, as Tahnee wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Oh, I’ve been waiting to meet you in the flesh for such a long time. Do you know how long Robb here has been mooning over you? Well, I suppose you would. You really did a number on him, you know.”

Tahnee turned to Robb, incredulity written all over her face.

“This clown managed to stay undercover at the Agency for how long, again?”

Robb grimaced, feeling the mild bemusement that was so common in Tahnee’s company coming back up to the surface despite the rather dangerous situation they were in. “He didn’t used to act like this.”

“I should hope not,” Tahnee muttered. “Otherwise, that’s really embarrassing.”

“Fighting over me already? I’m touched,” James laughed, and Robb really, really wanted to punch him in the face. Apparently he’d spent his time in prison fantasizing about becoming even more annoying than he had been on the day he’d been arrested, instead of reflecting on his actions and trying to find his way back to the person he’d once been.